Agenda

To receive a presentation from representatives of the North Norfolk Youth Council Steering Group on the work that they are doing to establish the new Youth Council for the District.

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 16 November 2022.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  The Code of Conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (see attached guidance and flowchart)

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

To consider any questions or statements received from members of the public.

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios.

Members are reminded that they may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and portfolio areas but should note that it is not a debate.

No member may ask more than one question plus a supplementary question, unless the time taken by members’ questions does not exceed 30 minutes in total, in which case, second questions will be taken in the order that they are received (Constitution, Chapter 2, part 2, section 12.2)

Cabinet members (listed alphabetically):

Cllr T Adams (Leader / Executive Support)

Cllr A Brown –  Planning & Enforcement

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett – Coast

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing & Benefits

Cllr V Gay – Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing

Cllr R Kershaw – Sustainable Growth

Cllr N Lloyd – Environment & Climate Change

Cllr E Seward - Finance, Assets & Legal

Cllr L Shires – Organisational Resources

To approve any changes to appointments to committees, sub-committees, working parties and outside bodies as advised by the Group Leaders.

The Leader, Cllr T Adams wishes to make the following changes:

Cllr J Toye to replace Cllr A Yiasimi on Development Committee

Cllr H Blathwayt to be appointed as a substitute on Development Committee

Cllr W Fredericks to replace Cllr T Adams as a substitute on the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership Scrutiny Panel

The following recommendations were made to Full Council at the Cabinet meeting held on 5^th December:

1.    Agenda item 7: Fees and Charges 2023 - 2024

To consider any further recommendations to Full Council made by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 14 December that have not already been considered as part of the Cabinet recommendations (Agenda item 11).

Appointment of Independent Persons

Summary

The Localism Act 2011 requires the appointment by the Authority of at least one Independent Person to provide a view on Code of Conduct complaints and if required, to be consulted and to sit on the disciplinary Panel when dealing with Statutory Officers disciplinary or dismissalprocesses.

Following the Council’s current Independent Person reaching the end of their term of office, a recruitment exercise has been undertaken to replace them. It is proposed that, in line with best practice, two Independent Persons are appointed.

Options considered

The Council could continue with just one Independent Person but this is not considered to be good practice.

Conclusion

Following a recruitment exercise, it is anticipated that the Council will be able to appoint two Independent Persons. Interviews took palce on 13^th December (after the Full Council agenda was published) so an oral update will be provided at the meeting.

          Recommendation:

To appoint two Independent Persons (names to be confirmed by the Chairman of the Recruitment Panel) for a term of four years.

Contact: Emma Denny, Democratic Services Manager

Email: emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Summary:

Over the summer, the Electoral Services team has visited the designated polling stations across the district to assess their continued suitability ahead of the forthcoming 2023 Local Elections.

There is a need to run an interim review under The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 and the Representation of the People Act 1982. This review is to act on the findings from these assessments and is only looking to make changes where existing arrangements are deemed to be unsuitable for a variety of reasons such as poor accessibility or condition of hire, comfort of staff or ongoing unavailability.

The proposed changes would be implemented from the District and Parish elections being held on Thursday 4^th May 2023 if it is agreed that consultation on the proposed changes can proceed.

            Recommendation:

That Full Council agrees the commencement of an Interim Polling Place review including consultation with the parishes/polling districts who are proposed for a change to their current arrangements, in line with the proposed timetable.

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

Rob Henry; x6327; robert.henry@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

Alison Argent, Tel: 01263 516058, Email: alison.argent@north-norfolk.gov.uk

None Received.

None Received.

Please note that there is a total time limit of 30 minutes for this item – as set out in the Constitution, Chapter 2, paragraph 14.11

The following motion has been proposed by Cllr C Cushing, seconded by Cllr N Dixon:

Use of Flying Rings on Beaches 

This Council is extremely concerned over the harmful impact of flying rings made of plastic, and other materials, have on our marine wildlife and the environment. They present a severe risk to seal pups when they are inadvertently left or lost on beaches as they can become trapped around their necks and in time cause strangulation as they grow if they are not caught, and the ring removed. There have been several instances of this on North Norfolk beaches in recent years. 

Being mostly made of plastic they are a source of waste and harmful to our environment.

This Council has signed up to the “Safer Seals” campaign which is supported by Friends of Horsey Seals which highlights what beach visitors can do to safeguard seals.

We therefore propose the following:

Council RESOLVES to:

1.    Prohibit the use of flying rings on the district’s beaches and adjoining NNDC car parks for which the council is responsible, and proactively discourage their use on the privately owned beaches where they can do harm to wildlife and the environment.

2.    The Council’s website is updated to make the public and retailers aware of this policy and the issue.

3.    Ask the NNDC Environmental team as to how this can be best enforced and monitored.

To pass the following resolution – if necessary:

a.    That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

 b.   That the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). The appended report contains commercially confidential information.